Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by Thads324:

A : pours a thick and completely black color with a small tan head. The head disappears quickly onto just side lacing. nice spidery lacing. S : first sniff is very sweet and roasty. a bit of bittersweet chocolate and some coffee. A slight bit of heat on the end.T : First sip is very astringent and almost phenolic. Roasty and a bit of coffee linger. A nice bitter and fresh hop in the tail end of the beer, which is creamy with a hearty pumpernickel type flavor. M : heavy brew that is full bodied and delightful. Chewy and easy in the finish.

Overall a very good beer except for the overly astringent and almost plastic tasting beginning. I don't know if it is super roasted and supposed to be that way or if there was a problem somewhere. if this beer didn't have such a bad beginning it would be amazing. I'll have to try it again and hope for better results

More User Reviews:

Wow. What an incredibly great stout. Pours opauqe black with a tan head. Good retention and nice lacing.

Smells strongly of dark chocalte, malts, and coffe. The taste is superb. Dark malts and oatmeal envelope your tounge, then the creaminess from the oatmel takes over with slightly dry finish. Needless to say it has a very nice mouthfeel. A highly quaffable stout. A must try for stout lovers.
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Edit 1/12/04: After much further product testing I have to go back and give this a 5 for taste. It simply crushes most other stouts I've tried.

A: Black with brown head that dissipated pretty quickly, but left brown lacing that stuck around pretty much throughout.

S: Fantastic. Smells very strongly of roasty chocolate malts.

T: The bottle speaks of "chocolate notes". Oh Ipswich, don't be so modest! This beer tastes overwhelmingly of chocolate. Despite it being called an oatmeal stout, I don't get a lot of oatmeal taste compared to something like a Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout. Nonetheless, I get some oatmeal notes (along with a bitter, dark coffee) on the aftertaste.

M: Feels exactly how it looks. Thick, robust, and hearty. Very satisfying.

O: A truly phenomenal brew. For the style, maybe it loses some fraction of a point for having more chocolate flavor than oatmeal, but either way, this is a great beer. Absolutely incredible.

Dark side of the moon black with the slimmest slice of lightening along the bottom edge of the pint glass. The mochachino colored crown is thick and rich, having already started to lay down an impressive array of intricate lace.

This is exactly how a stout (oatmeal or otherwise) should smell. IOS is wonderfully roasted malty, with plenty of dark chocolate and freshly ground coffee beans. Given the three hop additions and the 60 IBUs, I'm surprised that hops aren't more prominent. Perhaps they will be on the palate.

This is great beer! Forget subtlety. Stouts need to be big and bold and... stout, dammit! With such a massive explosion of flavor that shocks the taste buds and then seeps in like melted chocolate, what's not to like? And I thought Ipswich IPA was delicious (it is, by the way).

Highly hopped stouts are often amazing (see St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout). The bitterness and hop flavor seem to highlight the dark maltiness even more and make the beer POP! on the palate. This Mercury Brewing brew is full-to-bursting with intense chocolate and iced espresso. Whatever hops were used (at least one of the C-hops, no doubt) provide a relentless undercurrent of bitter citrus peel that is fandamntastic.

The mouthfeel is good, not great. In the end, it needs just a touch more creamy fullness and a little less carbonation.

The hop barrage and the ABV probably disqualify Ipswich Oatmeal Stout as a session beer. That's okay, I rarely session anyway. This expertly crafted ale is a tribute to its brewers and is a beer that I would love to have access to. If you do, consider yourself fortunate.

Poured a near opque black but for a glimmer of ruby showing through,a thinner but well retained tannish colored head atop.A mix of roasted coffee and mollases stick out the most in the nose.A great mix of heavy roast and softer sweet flavors,dark roast coffee, along with a little wood, meld into molasses and chocolate flavors,there is a softness to the beer wich is nice.A very nice oatmeal stout,you would never know the alcohol content.

S: Roasted malt, smoke, raw nuts, a little sugar, oats. As it warms sugar comes out in a pastry/cream sort of way.

T: Creamy roast up front followed by a strong bitterness moastly from the roasted malt but also hops. Meduim bodied the oats come through with of hint of that raw oat powdery/grain straight from the box. A dusting of cinnamon and more nuts, almonds mostly, bakers chocolate. Finishes of smooth and dry roast. This bottle shows a bit of oxidation unfortunately, even though its pretty young, and an unpleasant metallic quality. From a 6 pack that I think I am guilty of neglecting for too long.

M: Creamy, nice body, good carbonation level. Overall, well done.

D: If youre in the mood, or its the appropriate pairing, very good, but not an everyday drinker for me.

Poured into a pint glass, this was an opaque black with a medium tan head and some very nice lacing. It had a dark coffee, chocolate aroma. Espresso/burnt coffee taste, a little chocolate. Both the aroma and the taste were enhanced as the beer warmed. A rich beer, and very nice to drink.

Poured a PITCH BLACK with a nice, frothy, caramel colored head that just lingers on and on. Great lacing left behind as well. Beautiful!

Aroma is of huge roasted malts, bittersweet chocolate, coffee, caramel, and toffee. The aroma is not faint at all. Definitely in your face. Tremendous. I cannot stop sniffing this beer.

Taste is of more bittersweet chocolate, burnt caramel, ridiculous amounts of roastiness that lingers on your palate forever. Coffee flavors, chared meat from the grill, slight peat flavors even!, and a plethora of other roasty/burnt flavors. Finishes slightly bitter with mass amounts of roasty toasty burnt goodness. This is a serious stout.

Mouthfeel is thick and creamy with not too much carbonation. Great stout like qualities.

I would consider this beer drinkable for such a heavy brew. I would probably want to move onto something a tad more sweet or quaint after a couple of these though. Only so much char-ness and burnt flavors you can take in one sitting. This is one helluva manly stout.

Smell: Sweet and soft with hints of a charcoal like smokiness, espresso like roasted grain and a dash of yeast and hop are the make up of this complex aroma.

Taste: So damn creamy and smooth with a light carbonation and full body. Big mouthful of roasted character that comes in waves. First it is a dark chocolate flavour then leads more towards espresso and faintly smoky charcoal like flavours. Some sweetness on top is soft and melds well with the roasted character. Light punch of hop bitterness and tobacco-like flavour hit in the middle and lingers with the roasted grain far into the after taste. Finishes semi sweet with hints of yeast as well.

Notes: This is one stout I cant get enough of, one of the most drinkable full bodied ales I have run into in a long time. A treat for any die hard stout fan especially if you enjoy oatmeal stouts.

Mmmm.... Of course, being that oatmeal stout is a favorite of mine, it was a given that this one was right up there as a favorite!

Poured a deep dark brown, almost black, completely opaque. Head was a deep tan color. Smells of roasted coffee. The first sip has an initial bitter bite that is quickly replaced by a malty chocolatey flavor. Oat smell and taste is strong but not overpowering. The chocolate flavor is enhanced as you let the beer sit on your palate. The beer is smooth and thick. Easy to drink, best enjoyed by sipping!

Pours a nice jet black body, modest one finger head brown in color, nice big ring of lacing remains. Typical porter smells with this one, sweet, dark chocolate, some caramel, maybe bubble gum. Tastes like a stout, sweet carmel, toffee, roasted barley, some earthy hop bitterness, lingering bubble gummy roasty bitterness, some tobacco some where in there too. Creamy medium full bodied, low carbing. I like this one and could easily have a few more. $1.80 a single.

Drinkability: Worth a try but I think there are better examples in the style. I like the chewiness, but the flavor is not as full as others I have had. Still for the price, it is well worth having another.

Dar, dark mahogany color with a dark brown foamy head. Smells of nice roasted malt, with a bit of hop bitterness coming through. Mouthfeel is round and full as the roasted malt rushes over the tongue. Also nuances of chocolate and coffee. Hints of hop bitterness linger in the back of the throat. Very smooth, pleasant, and balanced flavor that keeps its rich character until the last drop.